Halal Meat

I try to buy kosher meat, but it’s not so easily available in my area. There is, however, a Muslim population in my city. I know that they also have some form of religious supervision of meat. What is the difference between Halal meat and Kosher meat?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

This is not “Ask the Mufti,” but Halal meat is ritually slaughtered according to the customs of the Muslims. It is not kosher, however, since there are a number of additional regulations for meat to be kosher – including the removal of the blood and certain veins and fats. All these are described in the Code of Jewish Law. A Jew may not eat Halal meat, though my understanding is that Muslims will eat kosher meat slaughtered by a Jew.

This reminds me of an interesting story that took place about 100 years ago in Israel. For their Halal meat, Arabs had come to rely on Sefardi Jewish butchers who had come from the neighboring countries of Yemen, Morocco, Syria, etc. But when Ashkenazi Jews starting arriving in large numbers from the European countries, the Arabs would not eat from their meat, since they did not believe these were "real Jews." Only when the Sefardi Jews testified on their behalf, would the Arabs then eat from Ashkenazi Jewish butchers.